Beverage bottling company Amalgamated Beverage Industries (ABI) – the largest manufacturer and bottler of Coca-Cola products in the southern hemisphere – has succeeded in reducing the water required to produce beverages across its five plants by some 70% over the last five years, while also narrowing its energy footprint over the same period by some 45%.

A pioneering solar-powered water distribution system is improving access to potable water in a region of Far North Cameroon beset by drought, water-related illness and an influx of refugees fleeing Boko Haram attacks.

Leaders from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed a cooperation deal on Monday over a giant Ethiopian hydroelectric dam on a tributary of the river Nile, in a bid to ease tensions over regional water supplies.

Owing to the current acid mine drainage (AMD) crisis in South Africa, which is contributing to the country’s clean natural resources becoming scarcer, mines are being forced to look at ways to enhance their processes and to recycle and treat their water before reintroducing it into the environment, says pumps specialist Verder Pumps South Africa consultant Daan Louw.

Royal Dutch Shell is pulling back from its shale projects in South Africa due to lower energy prices although it is still seeking an exploration license for the onshore Karoo Basin, its country manager said on Monday.

As the requirements for reliability and the extended life span of plastic pipes across industry are increasing, the Southern African Plastic Pipe Manufacturers Association (Sappma) is inviting companies to submit high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe samples by April 30 for selective quality testing by an independent laboratory.